The issue has divided the Member States and highlighted the bloc’s dependence on Russian energy sources. It took weeks for EU countries to agree on the details of the measure, in part due to the high dependence of some countries on Russian imports, including Germany and Hungary. Intensive talks are set to resume over the weekend before the European Commission puts a final proposal on paper to be approved by EU ambassadors, the New York Times reported on Friday. The ambassadors are due to meet on Wednesday (May 4th) and are expected to give their final approval by the end of next week, according to several EU officials and diplomats involved in the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity. If approved, the oil embargo would be the biggest and most important new step in the EU’s sixth round of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The 27 EU Member States must agree unanimously for the ban to take effect. However, if there is no last-minute opposition to the agreement, the process should be completed without requiring a meeting of all EU leaders. The embargo is likely to affect Russian oil transported by tankers faster than oil coming from a pipeline, which could take months to be affected. In both cases, it is believed that the bloc will allow its members to terminate existing contracts with Russian oil companies instead of immediately suspending imports. This was the case for the EU coal ban, which took four months to fully implement. Some countries were reluctant to impose a complete ban on Russian oil and gas, drawing criticism from other EU members. Germany has been a major rival in the past, with the country reluctant to impose a ban due to its heavy dependence on oil imports from Russia. At the time of the invasion of Ukraine, the country imported about a third of its oil from the country. However, German Energy Minister Robert Habeck said this week that the oil embargo on Germany was now “manageable” for the country after reducing its imports to just 12 percent in recent weeks. The country is trying to find alternative sources of fuel. Speaking to the media during a visit to Poland on Tuesday, he said: “The problem that seemed too big for Germany just a few weeks ago has become much smaller.” He added: “Germany has come very, very close to independence from Russian oil imports.” Russia remains Europe’s largest oil supplier, supplying about a quarter of the bloc’s oil each year, according to figures from 2020. This accounts for about half of Russia’s total exports, with the EU buying 3 million barrels of oil from Russia daily. The bloc has been widely criticized for its dependence on Russian imports and has been accused of helping finance the Moscow-Ukraine war, now in its 10th week. Officials said the bloc would try to make up for the deficit caused by the oil embargo by increasing imports from other sources, such as the Gulf states, Nigeria and Kazakhstan. The ban is likely to put increasing pressure on world oil prices and already push up energy prices around the world. Some leaders have suggested imposing tariffs or a price cap on Russian oil instead of an absolute embargo to try to reduce the impact on global oil supply. However, it is believed that European leaders still prefer the oil ban despite the restrictions. The deprivation of oil revenues from Russia will increase the economic pressure on Moscow, with the Russian economy bending under Western sanctions. Other measures that will be included in the sixth round of EU sanctions are measures against Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, and additional measures against high-profile Russians, according to officials.
